Pass rate
76.1%
Around average — 3.5 pts ahead of the 72.6% that cars this age and mileage manage.
Across 20,030 recorded tests.
Typical repair bill £33–£87
2003 Land Rover Discovery MOT pass rate
- 2003
- typical 145,875 mi
Most common fault
Suspension
20.8% of faults · 21.0% nationally
mostly worn arm bushes, split ball-joint boots and broken coil springs.
Which year to buy
- Best 2023 92.9% pass
- Avoid 2006 74.8% pass
Across the 24 years on record, a spread of 18.1 points. See every year →
- First-attempt pass
- 71.1%
- Typical mileage
- 146k mi
The 2003 Land Rover Discovery MOT pass rate is 76.1% of its MOT tests — 3.5 points ahead of what its age and mileage predict. Suspension is the biggest single reason it fails, at 20.8% of what testers record.
Check your postcode
MOT pass rates are national — type your postcode to see how Land Rover Discovery does in your corner of the country.
Expert verdict
Emissions & leaks: 2.6× the national share
Emissions & leaks make up 14.1% of everything recorded on the 2003 Land Rover Discovery, against 5.5% nationally — 8.6 points above. Suspension is still the single largest share at 20.8%, but at 21.0% nationally that one is ordinary. A smoky diesel or a leaking joint fails on emissions more often than on wear, so ask for a recent emissions printout.
- Beats its own age and mileage. Once you allow for how old and how far these cars have been driven, the expected pass rate is 72.6% and this one manages 76.1% — 3.5 points ahead of what its age and mileage predict.
Written from this page's own figures: fault shares against the national composition, the like-for-like pass rate, and the priced repair list. How these are worked out
Watching a Land Rover Discovery? Get an email when these numbers change .
How does the 2003 Land Rover Discovery compare?
Cars of this age and mileage average 72.6%, so this figure is 3.5 points ahead of what its age and mileage predict. On a first attempt, before any retests, the figure drops to 71.1%. The median 2003 Land Rover Discovery in this dataset had covered 145,875 mi.
97% of the tests on this vehicle ran on Diesel, which passed 76.1% of the time. Pass rates also shift with the test month: tests recorded October–March passed 76.2% of the time, April–September 76.0%.
The single most recorded failure item is "Ball joint dust cover severely deteriorated", noted on 8.90% of tests.
- 20,030 recorded tests behind this page.
- 76.1% overall pass rate, 71.1% on a first attempt.
- Across every year of the Land Rover Discovery, the average is 83.5% — best year 2023 (92.9%), worst 2006 (74.8%).
Figures count every completed test on this vehicle-year in the dataset, including retests. See methodology for the exact definition.
This page's data
- Tests analysed
- 20,030
- Typical mileage (median)
- 145,875 mi
- Make and model
- Land Rover Discovery
- Updated
- 2026-11-05
Source: DVSA anonymised MOT test data (2023–2025), OGL v3.0.
Top part to budget for
Ball Joint
Usually a DIY or independent-garage job.
Does mileage affect the Discovery MOT pass rate?
Pass rate by odometer reading. Bar lengths start at 67% so small gaps stay visible.
Fuel type and reliability
Pass rate by fuel type. Diesel is the most common here (97% of tests).
Regional pass rates for the Discovery
| Region | Tests | Pass rate |
|---|---|---|
| South West | 3,880 | 69.7% |
| South East | 3,072 | 78.0% |
| West Midlands | 2,417 | 78.2% |
| East of England | 2,308 | 78.5% |
| North West | 2,101 | 76.8% |
| Yorkshire | 1,899 | 80.4% |
| East Midlands | 1,477 | 77.0% |
| Wales | 1,181 | 73.8% |
| Scotland | 988 | 72.6% |
| North East | 562 | 77.8% |
| London | 145 | 91.7% |
Regions come from the postcode area recorded at the test station. Areas on region borders are assigned to the region with the majority of their population.
What fails a 2003 Discovery
Everything a tester recorded on this vehicle, grouped into the inspection sections that produced it. The notch on each bar is the national share, so you can see at a glance whether this car is unusual or just ordinary.
A test can record several items, so these percentages do not add up to 100%. The exact strings, with prices, are in the full DVSA record at the bottom of this page.
Before your test
Three checks worth doing on a 2003 Discovery
These are not generic tips — they are the faults recorded most often on this exact model, rewritten as things you can check yourself. All three take about ten minutes and cost nothing.
-
Check the suspension joints 8.9% of tests
“ball joint dust cover severely deteriorated”
With the car parked on level ground, rock the top of each front wheel in and out while someone watches the suspension arm. Clunks, or rubber boots split and greasy, are what testers record here.
-
Check the lights 8.7% of tests
“registration plate lamp(s) inoperative in the case of multiple lamps or light sources”
Switch everything on and walk round the car: both headlamps on dip and main, every indicator, both brake lights, reverse, fog and the two number-plate lamps. A bulb is a few pounds and a five-minute job.
-
Check the windscreen 6.7% of tests
“windscreen damaged”
Check the driver’s side of the screen within the swept area for chips and cracks; anything larger than 10mm in the driver’s central view is a fail. Most chips can be resin-repaired for far less than a new screen.
Shares are the proportion of tests on this vehicle that recorded the item, so they overlap: one test can record several.
What it costs to get a 2003 Discovery through its MOT
Across the 10 items that are recorded most often on this model, the average repair comes to £33–£87 — and 40% of those repairs are parts that cost under £30.
- Average repair across the 10 common items
- £33–£87
- Cheapest common item: anti-lock braking system warning lamp…
- £3–£15
- Dearest common item: component mounting prescribed areas…
- £180–£450
- Common items a careful owner can do at home
- 80%
- Repairs that still cost under £30
- 40%
Estimates from typical UK parts prices, weighted by how often each item appears in 20,030 MOT tests on this vehicle. They exclude diagnostics, retest fees and garage labour where the part is a DIY fit, and they are not figures from the DVSA dataset. Older and higher-mileage examples cost more than the average. How these estimates are built → · All MOT repair costs → · Cheapest cars to put through a test →
Every year of the Discovery, side by side
24 model years on record, from 2000 to 2023. Across them the pass rate runs from 74.8% to 92.9% — a spread of 18.1 points. The bar under each year is the item that failed it most often.
- 2000 75.7% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2001 74.8% ball joint dust cover severely…
- 2002 75.4% ball joint dust cover severely…
- 2003 76.1%ball joint dust cover severely…
- 2004 75.5% ball joint dust cover severely…
- 2005 75.7% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2006 74.8% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2007 75.9% joints constant velocity boot…
- 2008 76.7% joints constant velocity boot…
- 2009 77.2% joints constant velocity boot…
- 2010 78.8% joints constant velocity boot…
- 2011 80.2% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2012 81.2% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2013 82.0% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2014 83.5% registration plate lamp(s)…
- 2015 85.9% windscreen damaged but not…
- 2016 86.2% windscreen damaged but not…
- 2017 87.2% windscreen damaged but not…
- 2018 88.1% windscreen damaged but not…
- 2019 87.6% has a cut in excess of the…
- 2020 87.7% has a cut in excess of the…
- 2021 88.0% has a cut in excess of the…
- 2022 88.5% has a cut in excess of the…
- 2023 92.9% has a cut in excess of the…
Colour is the pass rate on a fixed scale, so a block means the same thing on any model. Each year links to its own page with the full fault breakdown.
Compare the 2003 Land Rover Discovery with another year
The raw pass rate mostly measures age. The year comparison adds the like-for-like figure, the mileage bands and the repair bill.
Other 2003 cars with a similar record
Closest pass rates among 2003 cars with at least 2,000 tests, so a small sample cannot flatter itself into the list. See the full rankings: best and worst MOT pass rates.
The full DVSA record for the 2003 Land Rover Discovery 10 failure items · 6 advisories · 10 inspection categories · mileage brackets · all of it in the page, none of it above the fold
Every inspection category
Shares of the 60,648 individual items recorded on this vehicle, and the same share across all cars nationally. A single test can record several items, so a row is not a percentage of tests.
| Category | Items | This car | Nationally | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Suspension | 12,772 | 20.80% | 20.98% | −0.18 |
| Brakes | 9,606 | 15.70% | 20.89% | −5.19 |
| Noise, emissions and leaks | 8,675 | 14.10% | 5.52% | +8.58 |
| Body, chassis, structure | 8,554 | 13.90% | 5.57% | +8.33 |
| Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | 8,272 | 13.50% | 12.21% | +1.29 |
| Steering | 5,104 | 8.30% | 2.57% | +5.73 |
| Tyres | 3,067 | 5.00% | 19.76% | −14.76 |
| Visibility | 2,781 | 4.50% | 4.97% | −0.47 |
| Non-component advisories | 1,105 | 1.80% | 4.18% | −2.38 |
| Seat belts and supplementary restraint systems | 712 | 1.20% | 0.82% | +0.38 |
The exact failure items, in the tester's words
| Recorded item | Severity | Tests | Est. cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ball joint dust cover severely deteriorated Suspension | Minor | 8.9% | £18–45 |
| Registration plate lamp(s) inoperative in the case of multiple lamps or light sources Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Minor | 8.7% | £5–20 |
| Windscreen damaged but not adversely affecting driver's view Visibility | Minor | 6.7% | £80–200 |
| Anti-lock braking system warning lamp indicates an ABS fault Brakes | Major | 3.0% | £3–15 |
| Component mounting prescribed areas prescribed area excessively corroded significantly reducing structural strength Suspension | Major | 2.9% | £180–450 |
| Headlamp lens slightly defective Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Minor | 2.8% | £5–25 |
| Position lamp not working Lamps, reflectors and electrical equipment | Major | 2.6% | £5–25 |
| Track rod end ball joint dust cover damaged or deteriorated, but preventing the ingress of dirt Steering | Minor | 2.5% | £18–45 |
| Ball joint dust cover no longer prevents the ingress of dirt Suspension | Major | 2.5% | £18–45 |
| Ball joint excessively worn Suspension | Major | 2.4% | £18–45 |
Severity is as recorded: Major and Dangerous fail the test outright; Minor and Advisory do not. Costs are estimates from typical UK parts prices — see how they are built.
What testers noted without failing the car
Advisories are the early warnings — the same parts a year or two before they fail. Reading them is how you tell a car that has been maintained from one that has been patched.
| Recorded item | Severity | Tests | Est. cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Engine oil leaks leaking excessively from engine Noise, emissions and leaks | Advisory | 30.3% | £200–700 |
| Chassis condition corroded to the extent that the rigidity of the assembly is significantly reduced Body, chassis, structure | Advisory | 12.3% | £180–450 |
| Rigid brake pipes excessively corroded Brakes | Advisory | 9.7% | £80–180 |
| Brake discs in such a condition that it is seriously weakened Brakes | Advisory | 7.2% | £45–110 |
| Transmission oil leaks leaking excessively from transmission Noise, emissions and leaks | Advisory | 6.8% | £200–700 |
| Ball joint excessively worn Suspension | Advisory | 6.7% | £18–45 |
Pass rate by mileage
| Mileage | Tests | Pass rate | Median odometer |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0-30k | 15 | 80.0% | 23,438 mi |
| 30-60k | 268 | 84.0% | 49,017 mi |
| 60-90k | 1,204 | 80.5% | 77,849 mi |
| 90-120k | 3,564 | 75.8% | 107,275 mi |
| 120k+ | 14,930 | 75.6% | 164,059 mi |
Source: 20,030 recorded tests on this vehicle-year. Every row above is recomputed from the same DVSA extract as the rest of the page — see the methodology.
2003 Discovery MOT questions
What is the MOT pass rate for a 2003 Land Rover Discovery?
76.1% of the 20,030 2003 Land Rover Discovery tests in this dataset passed, against a national average of 72.6% for cars first used in 2003. First-attempt pass rate: 71.1%.
What are the most common MOT failures on a 2003 Land Rover Discovery?
The three most recorded items are ball joint dust cover severely deteriorated (8.90%), registration plate lamp(s) inoperative in the case of multiple lamps or light sources (8.69%), windscreen damaged but not adversely affecting driver's view (6.66%). Percentages are the share of tests on this vehicle that recorded the item.
Does mileage affect the 2003 Land Rover Discovery MOT pass rate?
Yes. Cars under 30,000 miles passed 80.0% of the time, falling to 75.6% for those over 120,000 miles. The median 2003 Land Rover Discovery in this dataset had covered 145,875 mi.
Which fuel type is most reliable for a 2003 Land Rover Discovery?
Diesel: 76.1% pass rate across 19,390 tests. Petrol: 76.4% pass rate across 573 tests. LPG: 81.4% pass rate across 59 tests. Shares are of the tests on this vehicle that recorded each fuel type.
Does the season affect the 2003 Land Rover Discovery MOT pass rate?
Tests recorded in the winter months (October–March) passed 76.2% of the time; summer months (April–September) passed 76.0%. Brakes, tyres and lights are tested harder in bad weather, but the difference is small on most models.